Bulky materials are costly to ship per unit weight because of their low density. Many bulky materials are capable of being compressed to substantially densify the material prior to packaging and this is common practice to make handling, storing and shipping easier and more economical. Fine fibers made from glass or polymers are bulky and it is common practice to mechanically compress them to a fraction of their initial volume and then restrain the compressed mass in a container such as a plastic or paper bag for shipment.
Equipment for doing this is available, but this equipment tends to damage the material, such as fine fibers, which detracts from the performance of the material and introduces agglomerate defects into the material. These agglomerates frequently cause defects in the final products containing the bulky material.